Type 2 diabetes in South Asians

Abstract Type 2 diabetes poses a substantial public health challenge in South Asia, marked by distinctive features in its pathogenesis, phenotype, and management. This review explores the characteristics of type 2 diabetes in South Asians who tend to develop the condition at a younger average age and lower body mass index than white populations. Prevalence is high and varies across the region, with recent increases in youth onset type 2 diabetes. Environmental influences are driving greater sedentary behavior, and dietary shifts towards processed foods are leading to higher body weights. This is concerning because South Asians show greater abdominal obesity, ectopic fat accumulation (particularly hepatic fat), and lower skeletal muscle mass than white people of a similar age and body mass index. These features, coupled with rapid β cell dysfunction, contribute to earlier onset and accelerated glycemia progression (greater aggregated hyperglycemia than white people), contributing to more retinopathy, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease. Management of type 2 diabetes in the region is hindered by delayed diagnosis, inadequate healthcare access, and economic barriers limiting sustainable glucose, lipid, and blood pressure management. Evidence supports lifestyle and dietary weight loss as viable approaches to prevention and diabetes remission, respectively, though sustained remission is untested. Recently introduced drugs (sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and newer glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists) offer promise in weight management and cardiovascular and kidney protection, but are often inaccessible owing to cost constraints. Future efforts should prioritize affordable and innovative solutions, strengthen healthcare systems, and implement population wide preventive measures that account for the region’s socioeconomic complexities, and practical contextual research.